Fire and Flight
by palomino333
Summary: ROTF. Even a tough femme like Chromia sometimes needs a mech in shining armor.


SPOILERS FOR REVENGE OF THE FALLEN. I was excited to hear that Chromia was in Transformers 2, but then I was disappointed when she and Ironhide didn't have a moment together. So, I decided to make one of my own. After seeing the film, I read that although Arcee and Flareup had been shot, they survived, and so did Chromia, who was seen taking cover. Chromia, however, never appeared at the movie's final fight. Plus, Ironhide barely makes it to safety before the battleground is bombed. I thought that maybe he had stayed back to help the Arcee triplets get to safety. I don't own Transformers.

* * *

Speed. That was the unshakeable law the Arcee triplets lived by. It had ensured their survival on Cybertron, and it had also been a catalyst in taking down fugitive Decepticons on Earth.

There was one of the three triplets, however, that did not always abide by this law: Chromia. She oftentimes became the cause of her sisters' worry with her habit of lagging back to fight enemies, instead of speeding off to safety like Arcee and Flareup. Unlike her sisters, Chromia's grudge against the Decepticons dictated most of her actions, and it troubled the two greatly. They oftentimes expressed this concern to her, but she would have none of it.

This grudge did have a gentler consequence, for it caught the optics of a fellow comrade, Ironhide. Her connection to him, something her sisters playfully teased her about, saved not only her life, but the lives of Arcee and Flareup, as well.

XXXXXX

Chromia could not even fathom what had happened. Just moments ago, Flareup was telling Arcee and her that she would speed on ahead to retrieve Sam and Mikaela. She requested for her sisters to watch her back as she did so. Unfortunately, neither Arcee nor Chromia had expected Megatron to descend upon the purple motorcycle. It had all happened so quickly that nothing could be done to prevent the attack. The law of speed had been broken.

Arcee followed almost immediately, her now shattered logic seeing no other alternative than to provide a distraction for Sam and Mikaela to escape. The plan was a success, but it now left only one of three standing when the dust had cleared.

"Sister, please...RUN!" Arcee and Flareup wheezed desperately in Chromia's mind. This time, she obeyed, gunning her engine to find shelter. For that moment, her usual tough femme attitude was gone, replaced by raw fear.

Underneath a stone overhang that veiled her in shadow, she let out a heavy breath as she tried to keep whatever remained of her psyche together. That was nearly impossible to do while her sisters' groans of pain echoed inside of her mind, mingled with pleas to leave them behind. She was faced with indecision. Going back for the two would make her vulnerable to attack, but she couldn't bear to leave them. Without Arcee and Flareup, she would be incomplete, a mere fraction of a mind.

"Chromia! Chromia, are you in there?" Ironhide's deep voice pulled her out of her dark thoughts. He was the only mech that called her by her individual name.

She quickly made herself known with a shrill cry of, "In here!"

She felt relief well up in her as his massive frame filled the overhang's opening. His blue optics were filled with worry as he held out a hand to her, and coaxed, "Chromia, come on. It's not safe here."

She shook her head, shrinking back. "I can't leave without my sisters."

He looked back over his shoulder. Two shots landed nearby as he did so. A cloud of dust rose from behind him.

He'd seen the sisters fall while he was tangled in battle, and looking at their injured forms again only filled Ironhide with more rage. Flareup lay motionless on the ground, moaning, while Arcee twitched in pain. No wonder Chromia acting in this way!

Looking back at his friend, he replied, "Well, come on."

Carefully, she edged out of the overhang.

Ironhide let out a sigh of frustration.

Gripping the femme's shoulders, he locked her optics with his. If he didn't bring her out of her traumatized state right now, she wouldn't be herself ever again. He couldn't even bear to think of that happening. "Get a hold of yourself, Chromia. This isn't like you. Do you want to die out here?"

She shook her head fast.

"Do you want the Decepticons to win?"

A fierce "NO!" was her answer. Her valor had returned, much to his relief.

He let go of her shoulders, and with a quick nod, ran and scooped up Flareup and Arcee, throwing each over a shoulder.

"Cover me!" Ironhide growled to Chromia, who complied, speeding after him as he searched for a safe exit.

"Why...Why didn't you run?" Arcee whispered in Chromia's mind. Flareup was too exhausted to think at this point.

"I'm running now," the blue motorcycle replied defiantly, firing a shot at an unruly Decepticon.

Ironhide grinned at the display. "That's my femme."

A few minutes later, they arrived at a gathering of dunes. It was a sheltered area that had so far been untouched by the mainstream attacks.

"Guard them with your life. I'll return with Ratchet as soon I can," Ironhide ordered gruffly as he set the two down.

"Of course I will!" she retorted.

"That's not what I meant!" He snapped.

Ironhide strode over to her audio receptor, and growled into it, "You stay alive, or I promise you I'll find the Pit, and drag you out of it. Then you'll wish you never were created!"

With a smirk, she turned her head to touch her lips to his. "You don't have to worry about me," she replied.

After giving her a look, Ironhide seized the back of her neck, and pulled her back in for a passionate kiss.

Letting go, he began to walk away. However, he did turn back, his burly warrior form framed against the burning remains of the human settlement, making him look wild. "Don't lie to me, Chromia." At that, he dashed away, leaving her with her sisters.

"Only if you don't," she replied to his retreating form before turning to inspect Flareup's wounds.


End file.
